Recently,
I completed the rough draft of a book in ten days. 60,000 words in less than
two weeks.

There
were times I struggled. A couple of the days I only managed to get in 3,000
words which meant I had to make up for it by writing eight thousand words
twice later on.

And
I did it.

It
was crazy, but I did it.

At
the end, I was drinking coffee and Diet Coke all day and into the night to
manage it. (Something I never do normally—I rarely drink soda at all).

But
I accomplished what I set out to do.

When
I posted about this on my social media sites, other writer’s reacted with “wow”
emoticons and comments asking me how I did it.

So how did I do it?

In
3 ways:

Mindset—I believed in my heart
I could do it

Self love—I refused to push
myself too hard to do it

Intense and absolute focus

Mindset

When
I set out to do this, I believed I could. And any time that belief started to
waver in the slightest, I made sure to tell myself repeatedly—to affirm to
myself—that I could do it.

Beliefs
are just thoughts we’ve repeated or thought often enough to cement them into
our brains.

They
are habits oftentimes. Something that becomes automatic.

We
can train ourselves to do what we want simply by reordering our thoughts. When
a negative thought pops up—and it will—we can say, no, I don’t believe that. I
don’t want to
believe that because it’s not going to help me.

It’s
a matter of insistently, stubbornly bringing your thoughts back to the
positive.

Self Love

There
are a lot of people who believe in the “no pain, no gain” philosophy. A lot.

Me
personally? Pardon my French, but I think it’s bullshit.

Harming
ourselves is never good. It’s something we’re not going to maintain because
ultimately we can’t. We are programmed to avoid pain, not embrace it.

So
when I was coming down to my last two days and I was facing a need to write
13,000 words to reach my goal, instead of sitting brainless and forcing myself
to keep typing… I went outside into the sunshine. My husband took me out to
lunch. I reminded myself that this wasn’t life and death.

And
this helped so much! I forgave myself for being tired and feeling like my
creative well was empty. I allowed myself to be human.

And
by walking away even when under that deadline, my creative well did fill back
up.

And
that novel is good. It’s full of intensity and heart and characters with depth.
And those last 13,000 words showcase this. The reviews for that book are some
of the best I’ve ever received.

So
not only can you write fast if you set your mind to it—you can write well.
Because I kept telling myself “I love you” and “You can do this,” I felt
carried and supported by my inner self. My soul, if you will.

I
believe I am connected to the infinite wisdom and intelligence of the universe.
That belief supports me endlessly. God. Source. Whatever you’d like to call
that higher power of ultimate love. It reminds me that even when I doubt
myself, I can—in fact—succeed at anything I set my mind to.

Intense and Absolute Focus

This
last piece is so essential. The ability to focus on one thing for an extended
period of time—in my case 10 days—is something we all have but don’t tend to
exercise often.

What
makes it easier for me is having a meditation practice. Sitting and quieting my
mind as best I can for a few minutes a day means I can shut out distractions
more successfully.

Writers
love to go on retreats because it usually means they’re able to go off on their
own or with other writers to focus exclusively on their writing.

I
put classical music on my earbuds so I wouldn’t hear the noise of my family
watching television.

I
wore comfortable clothing.

I
made sure I was warm enough since it was winter.

If
I became uncomfortable, I’d grab my laptop and move. I’d rotate from my office
to my couch to my bed—whichever felt the best in that moment.

I
also thought about the story I was writing. I had a plan. This project is the
first time I ever worked directly from an outline.

I
used to consider myself as somewhere between a pantser and plotter because I’d
have a general idea and know my ending but not much else.

Having
an outline helped me dramatically. It was like I was connecting the dots.

Before,
I would sit and let the story happen, which meant it was up to the whims of
wherever my mind happened to go at the time. Having an outline directed my mind
in the way I wanted it to go, drastically cutting the time it took to write.

So what do you think? Did this information help you? Do you have any questions or your own experiences with something you’ve challenged yourself to do?

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Published by Jeannie

After exploring personal development, spirituality, and law of attraction over the past few years, I've discovered my life can be filled with much more joy. I'm now bringing that joy to you, so you can follow your dreams like I'm following mine. I'm writing in my jammies for a living and for fun!
What's your dream? And how can I help you achieve it?
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